Judge Gives Go-Ahead to Release A-Rod Decision

(AP) Judge gives go-ahead to release A-Rod decisionBy RONALD BLUM and LARRY NEUMEISTERAssociated PressNEW YORKAlex Rodriguez’s lawyers were given the go-ahead by a federal judge to make public the arbitrator’s decision that led to the season-long suspension of the New York Yankees star in his planned lawsuit seeking to overturn the discipline.

During a short hearing in federal court in Manhattan, U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III brushed aside concerns from the Major League Baseball Players Association that revealing portions of the intended suit and Saturday’s decision by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz might violate confidentiality provisions of the sport’s collective bargaining agreement.

The decision came a day after the founder of a now-closed Florida anti-aging clinic said during a “60 Minutes” interview he administered an elaborate doping program for the 14-time All-Star starting in 2010. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig told the program that Rodriguez’s actions were “beyond comprehension.”

Rodriguez’s lawyers had feared filing the complete versions might lead to additional discipline from MLB.

Pauley said there was a presumption in federal courts that the public should have access to documents. He said the presumption of access could be overridden if there was evidence the courts were being used improperly to force otherwise confidential information to be made public.

Howard Ganz of Proskauer, representing MLB, said the league was not seeking to seal any parts of the written decision, which has not been made public.

The three-time MVP was suspended for 211 games last August by Selig, and Horowitz presided over 12 days of hearings from September through November. Horowitz reduced the penalty to 162 games plus any postseason games played by the Yankees this year.

The brief court proceeding was scheduled so hastily that Joe Tacopino, a Rodriguez lawyer, and union General Counsel Dave Prouty, participated by telephone.

Prouty told the judge the union wanted to redact any portions of the arbitrator’s ruling that touched on subjects required to remain confidential under baseball’s collective bargaining agreement.